The Pains of Joy
by mamaXunicorn
Summary: Rose is poisoned by an alien plant, the Doctor rushes to save her life.


**_A/n: Since I started also posting on A03 I keep forgetting to also post on here...here's one that was written a couple months ago! Hope you enjoy!_**

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"One rule. I have _one_ rule and I don't really believe it's that hard to follow. But do you follow it? Oh no, the second you step out of the TARDIS you have to go wandering off. You stupid apes and your curiosity and lack of patience. Can't do a thing you're told. You lot are more trouble than you're worth most of the time."

"I can hear you you know."

The Doctor glanced down to the human in his arms. Her body was practically limp, her head curled against his chest. Her brown eyes peered weakly up at him through small slits.

He huffed. "Well good. You need a good scolding. Maybe that will teach you not to go wandering off on your own on a strange planet."

Her eyes finally closed, unable to keep them open any longer and she curled further into his chest. " 'M Sorry.." She mumbled. "Jus' looked so nice."

"Dangerous things often do." He snipped. "I told you, didn't I? I told you before we left the TARDIS that most of the vegetation on this planet was poisonous to humans. And you, Rose Tyler, just had to go swanning off into the midst of it all."

A shiver rippled across her body and she let out a quiet moan.

His hearts clenched in concern, his eyes focusing on her red tipped fingers where she had touched one of the admittedly beautiful but definitely dangerous flowering plants he had warned her about.

He knew Rose was not stupid and would not touch anything he told her not to, she had been with him long enough to know better. Which meant, of course, that she just had not been listening to him.

His anger stemmed from that but more so from the deep rooted concern pooling in his gut. He gave his speeches, his warnings for her safety alone. The universe was a large, mysterious, dangerous place and Rose was a young, vulnerable human. She was curious and adventurous and brave - all qualities he admired in her but they were also qualities that got her into trouble when she didn't follow his instructions.

"You can fix it, yeah?"

Her voice was so low and weak that he almost missed it.

Another look at her face just heightened his ever growing concern. She was barely awake and he knew it would only be a matter of time before she completely lost consciousness.

"I can." He confirmed, softening his voice, allowing his concern to make itself known. "But only in the TARDIS."

He was kicking himself for not taking any sort of first aid with him. The poison was common with a very common antidote he had stored in the TARDIS med bay. He should have predicted that Rose would end up in trouble. He could have easily stored the antidote in his transdimensional pockets.

He had started to give her a brief tour of the planet and for a while thought she was right behind him. Then when he realized she had been strangely silent he turned around to find her nowhere in sight.

His frustration and annoyance grew as he searched the brush for his wayward companion.

He eventually found her sitting on the ground, staring dazed at her red hands with the dreaded plant in question hanging almost mockingly beside her.

They had both wandered a good distance from the TARDIS and in his hastening to find his lost companion, he couldn't even remember where exactly he had parked her.

Yes, he could fix Rose but only if he could find the TARDIS and so far, he wasn't having much luck.

Rose had now fallen completely silent and deathly still. The only evidence of her life was the slow rise and fall of her chest he could feel against him.

He knew the poison was slowly making its way through her body and it wouldn't be long before it reached the next phase.

Finally, _finally,_ he could see the bright blue of his beloved ship parked on the hill in the distance.

He picked up his pace as best he could with the dead weight of Rose in his arms.

Nearly halfway there, her body suddenly lurched, her back arching upwards and he tightened his grip so he wouldn't drop her.

Then seconds later a grin split across her lips and she let out a string of helpless giggles.

Any other time the sight would have been amusing but the Doctor's concern only grew.

To the planet's natives, the plant acted as a hallucinative agent. It provided them with a blissful high, giving way to that same reaction: Unbridled joy and laughter.

For a human it worked similarly, however, the effects were too much for a human body to handle.

The Doctor knew the toxin had now reached her brain and if he didn't get to the TARDIS quickly, the chemicals being released into her body would overload her entire system.

Every peep of laughter from her lips, a sound that usually only filled him with joy, now filled him with dread.

His faithful time ship must have sensed his distress because by the time he reached the TARDIS the doors were already unlocked.

He kicked the door open and maneuvered his way in, struggling somewhat against the giggling, wiggling Rose in his arms.

Her cheeks were now burning pink, though whether that was from the incessant laughter or the excess chemicals leaking into her body he didn't know.

Nor did he want to waste anymore time thinking about it.

He quickly walked through the console room, thanking the TARDIS as he found the med bay had been moved closer.

He hustled them over to the nearest bed and placed a still wiggling Rose onto it.

As he released her and went to pull away, she suddenly reached out and grabbed his face between his hands, bringing him down so their faces were only inches apart.

His wide startled eyes locked on hers.

Her lips were curled into a wide smile, giggles still escaping her throat, her cheeks were only getting more red and were now stained with tears that leaked helplessly from her red-rimmed eyes.

She bit down on her lip, trying to control her laughter.

"You know what, Doctor…" She brushed her fingers against his cheeks and another round of giggles interrupted her before she managed to speak again, "...You've got really nice eyes."

He huffed, lightly grabbing a hold of her wrists. "Well that's nice, Rose but would you please let go of my face?"

Rose continues to giggle. "They're so _blue…_ "

"Rose…" He gently removed her hands from his cheeks and her fingers wiggled, immediately reaching back towards him but then she burst out into a hearty laughter, throwing her head back.

Her hands then fell to her stomach, her volume only growing.

The Doctor swore under his breath and hastened across the room frantically searching through all the drawers and cabinets to locate the correct antidote.

"Gotcha." He nearly growled as he found a small vial full of a blueish green liquid.

He grabbed a syringe and clean needle and brought it back over to the Rose.

She was now doubled over herself, curled up on the bed, her chin tucked into her chest, her laughter muffled by her shirt.

"Rose, I'm gonna need your arm." He told her as calmly as he could, already trying to peel one arm from where it was wrapped tight around her abdomen.

"My arm?" She bit out between peels of laughter. "You've got your own!"

He frowned at her and wondered how he was going to manage this. Hitting a human vein was hard enough when they were still, none the less when they were moving. And it wasn't like she could calm herself either.

"Rose…" He placed one hand over hers where they joined together at the center of her abdomen. "I know it's hard but I need you to calm down…"

Rose snickered, biting down on her lip as looked down at his hand. "You've got big hands Doctor…" Her head lifted and she spluttered out a few more laughs. "Does it mean the same thing for Time Lords as it does for humans?"

He resisted a sigh and clenched his jaw. It was like dealing with a child.

He struggled with her laughing form for a few more agonizing seconds and then finally managed to free her arm and pin it to the bed.

He tried to tune out every distraction- including Rose's constant laughter and his own pounding hearts.

He quickly drew the appropriate dosage into the syringe and then moved to inject it.

He kept one hand against her wrist to hold it still, while he concentrated the other towards the vein in the middle of her arm.

He clenched his teeth, grunting in frustration as with each peal of hysterical laughter, Rose's whole body shook and he could not even get near the skin.

"I will have to have words with whoever made this bloody thing intravenous." He growled under his breath.

Rose suddenly let out a large bark of laughter, her whole body arching upwards and then she collapsed back onto the bed, completely still.

The Doctor only allowed a split second of relief that she was calm enough to inject the antidote before deep dread passed over him at the fact that she now needed it more than ever.

Without any more hesitation he quickly searched for her vein and then inserted the needle and injected the antidote.

He made sure every last drop left the syringe before tossing it to the side table. He grabbed a small gauze pad and placed it over her arm to stop any bleeding and then looked over at her for any indication that it was working.

Rose was still as stone and after a few more seconds he moved his other hand to search for a pulse on her neck.

He let out a small sigh of relief upon feeling the gentle, normal thrum of her pulse against his fingers.

He then removed that hand and used the back of his hand to lightly brush the tear tracks off her left cheek and then brushed a strand of hair away from her face.

After another few seconds the color in her cheeks slowly returned to normal and her previously tensed body had now relaxed.

"Don't know what I'm gonna do with you, Rose Tyler." He told her, now satisfied that the antidote had started to work. "It's not really possible for a Time Lord to have a heart attack, given that we have two of them but you may be the cause of my very first, you know."

He spoke easily to her unconscious form. These were words he dare not spoke aloud when she could hear them.

Rose Tyler gave him very _human_ emotions most of the time and he wasn't afraid to let her know he cared - he just preferred not to show how _much_ he cared. Sometimes it was even hard for him how quickly this human had wormed her way into his hearts.

He sat observing her for another minute or two, just to make sure she was properly recovering from the attack and then he started cleaning up.

It was another couple of hours before Rose started to stir.

She let out a small groan as she started to blink awake.

She flinched against the bright light and her arms wound gently around her middle.

"Doc…" Her voice was hoarse and she quickly cut herself off as a few coughs passed her lips and then she winced and groaned again. "Doctor?"

"Here, Rose."

She turned her head and found the Doctor sitting by her bedside, a glass with a straw in his hands.

"Drink this, it will make you feel better."

She groaned and winced as she slowly pushed herself up. She eyed the glass curiously as he extended it towards her. "What is it?" She raised, taking it from him.

He smirked.. "It's just water, Rose."

"Oh." She whispered and then took a few sips straw. Immediately she let out a small sigh of relief, her eyes closing as the soothing water slipped down her throat.

"What happened?" She asked after nearly drinking the whole glass and turned back to face the Doctor inquisitively. "Why does my throat feel so scratchy and why does it feel like I got a killer workout for my abs."

He raised his brow. "You don't remember?"

She furrowed her brow, pausing to think and then shook her head. "Not really...I mean we were on that planet. The one that looked like a giant greenhouse and I...,"

"Yes? You _wha_ t, Rose?"

She paused to swallow thickly. "I dunno." She muttered.

He pressed his lips together and leaned forward towards her. "I'll tell you what you did. You wandered off...again after I told you not to...again."

Roses eyes widened for a second and then she bit her lip, trying to hide a sheepish smile.

"And _then_ , you went and touched the very thing I told you not to touch."

"Very Adam and Eve."

"Indeed. The forbidden fruit in this case was a plant the locals like to call Joy - because it brings that. Almost euphoric bliss."

"Sounds lovely."

His eyes narrowed slightly. "Oh it's fantastic...to them. To fragile though it's deadly."

Roses face quickly sobered and she visibly tensed. "Deadly?"

"Yes, Rose, deadly." His voice was calm and cool but there was a certain ice in his blue eyes that shook Rose to the core. She knew the Doctor was serious when he looked at her like that.

"But...I'm gonna be alright, yeah?"

He sighed. "Yes. Very luckily I was able to get you back to the TARDIS where I just so happened to have the antidote but you nearly laughed yourself to death. Literally."

She relaxed in relief and then her eyes widened in realization. "That's why my sides hurt. From laughing?"

The Doctor nodded solemnly.

"Well that would have been a hell of a way to go." She whispered with a small laugh, her lips twitching up at the corners.

"Well I'm glad you find amusement in it. It wasn't very funny knowing your brain could explode at any minute." He said tensely

Her brow lifted incredulously. "My brain was gonna explode?"

He rolled his eyes. "Well not _literally_ no but the plant toxin would have triggered your brain to release a very large amount of endorphins. It would have flooded your system and overloaded you until you just completely shut down."

"Oh." She whispered, quickly sobering. She bit her lip, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry…"

He took in the sight of her, wide brown eyes filled with true regret, pale cheeks with just a hint of color and then sighed.

He visibly released the tension shoulders and reached out to hand. "It's alright." He said and his lips turned up in a small smile. "I'm just glad to have you back."

A smile lit up her face and a flood of warmth filled his belly at the sight.

She squeezed his hand and they locked eyes for a few moments.

Then the Doctor cleared his throat, released her hand and say back. "Now," He said seriously, throwing her a pointed look, "How about next time you listen to what I tell you about alien planets, eh? I'm sort of an expert on the subject."

Rose nodded. "Yeah, 'course I will." Her eyes twinkled with a hint of mischief and he narrowed his eyes at her.

"I will! Really, I promise...at least you know about the important things."

He straightened up, looking affronted. "Everything I say is important."

She light rolled her eyes. "But not everything is interesting.."

He gaped at her. "Rose Tyler, you take that back."

She grinned. "Doctor, most of what you say is interesting. You know I love learning about the universe and planets and things but some stuff just goes right over my head. Silly little human remember?"

"Hm." He huffed. "Yes but I don't think " _toxic plant - do not touch_ " falls in that category."

Rose smiled sheepishly, lifting her shoulders. "Alright I got a bit distracted, it was just beautiful and I thought you'd just be going on and on about the history."

His brow furrowed. "History is interesting!"

"I know and I did listen...at first. I remember the planet's name is Turalsa which translates to Harmony in English and that it's so full of luscious plantlife because the natives care about sustaining their natural environment and it has been flourishing for five thousand years."

She smiled at the surprised look on the Doctor's face.

"Yeah, that's right, I did listen, I told you it's just...then you just kept on going and going and I got a little bit distracted by everything. The sights and smells...it was so lovely there. I shouldn't have wandered off though and I really should have known better than to touch anything."

"Yes you should have." He agreed seriously and then they shared a smile.

"I can't promise that I won't wander off again." She admitted and he let out a small sigh of frustration though he knew the truth of it. "But I will listen to what you say about life on other planets and its dangers. Believe me, I want to see the universe not die before I get the chance to."

His eyes darkened for a moment, his chest clenching at the dreaded thought. Every adventure he took her on put her in enough danger to potentially kill her.

"You better. My job is to show you the universe not be your caretaker."

She raised her brow, biting her lip. "Your _job?_ And isn't your name _the Doctor?_ Isn't that by very definition a care taker?"

"Yes and I do take care - of the universe. I save planets and species and help them when they need help. It does _not_ refer to saving one particular human over and over again when she decides she wants to get herself into trouble." He raised his brow pointedly and she grinned, unabashed.

"Yet here you are, saving me again."

"Well I very well can't have you dying, can I?" He retorted, a little sharply and she only continued to grin at him. He crossed his arms sitting back in his chair and shook his head. "I, for one, am not going to be the one to tell your Mum that you got yourself killed by a plant of all things."

Rose's eyes widened for a moment at the mention of her mother and then she stifled a giggle. "Oh, she'd kill you…"

"Or worse."

Rose let out a laugh and then almost immediately groaned, her face twisting up in pain as her arms once again wrapped around her middle.

"I did not realize that laughing could actually hurt this much."

The Doctor frowned as he uncrossed his arms and leaned forward toward her. "You were doing quite a bit of heavy laughing for a good few minutes."

She flinched again as she rubbed her hands over her sore abdomen.

"Now, I know you don't like to stay put…" He gave her a pointed look and she looked up at him with small smirk. "...but you are going to have to rest for a bit. Your body needs time to heal and though the antidote did negate the toxin's effects on you, your body still needs to flush it all out as well as the excess hormones that your brain already released due to the toxin. It will probably be another 12 hours or so before your body returns to normal. You don't have to stay in here, I have already stabilized you and you are not in any need of careful medical watch so if you'd like you can go to your room or perhaps we can set you up in the library….Rose?" '

He paused, noticing Rose staring off past his head with a blank expression. She slowly turned her head to look at him and blinked slowly. "Sorry, what?"

He narrowed his eyes slightly. "Were you listening to me at all?"

She continued to stare at him blankly, just blinking quietly for a few long moments. Then a smile slowly pulled across her lips and she let out a small laugh. "I'm just teasing." Her tongue poked out between her teeth. " ' Course I was listening. The library sounds wonderful...with some tea, yeah?" '

The Doctor let out a small groan, closing his eyes for a moment and shook his head.

He reopened his eyes a moment later to find her still smiling at him, a twinkle in her eyes and he shook his head again, returning a small smile of his own.

"Alright - with tea and I suppose you want biscuits as well?"

"That'd be great thanks." She grinned and he resisted a small eye roll.

Yes, most of the time humans he found humans to be more trouble than they were worth.

This human, however, was worth just a little bit more.


End file.
